The Homesman Blu-ray Digital HD

When I read that the late, great novelist Glendon Swarthout's The Homesman was being made into a movie I got excited, but wondered if Hollywood would somehow soften this tough, realistic story about the struggles many women faced in the Western frontier in the 1800s. To my great surprise and delight, Tommy Lee Jones, who I believed directed this masterpiece, did not. In fact, this hardcore western literature stayed true to the gritty novel. Both Jones and Hillary Swank became the characters in the book, which were both powerful and deeply disturbing in many ways. This is not a feel good movie. It deals with the realities women faced when they were taken into a wild, barren frontier. If there is a hero in this movie, it is Swank, who ends up taking up the slack for disillusioned and cowardly men. Jones is an anti-hero that is so real, you walk away shaking your head in amazement and disgust. Without revealing too much of the plot, the story revolves around Swank and Jones charged with taking back to civilization a group of pioneer woman, who have lost their minds from the hardships they had endured, such as one woman losing all of her children to sickness. The story is sad, compelling and at the same time shows the true grit these people were made of. It is not a feel good movie with a happy ending, but it is a cautionary tale made from the blood, sweat and tears of pioneers. I loved it. It deserved five stars in my opinion, even though it did poorly at the box office. It is a movie that I am thankful was made. Read more

THIS HAS A SPOILER ALERT! This movie was a little quirky from the start - but a good quirky. When the 2 main characters finally started to get to know each other, have more interaction and talk to each other, I got my hopes up that each of them finally found the person they needed in their lives. She needed someone to help her on her farm with the plantings, crops, animals and just having a man around in a rough environment. He needed someone to get him to settle down instead of always on the move, travelling and no steady income. He needed someone to kind of smooth down his rough edges. When they were intimate it was an odd thing and I couldn't see how it would work out, but then the next morning when he found her dead from suicide was just not how I thought it would go in any scenario. I was shocked, kind of heart-broken and sad because I thought it could have worked out so differently. The movie carried on and was really good too. I loved the part where the women he was transporting all followed him (I think because they knew, even with their mental problems, he was safe and would care for them). It was one of those movies that I wonder if things could have worked out differently. I think that's a good thing because it means I got immersed enough in the characters and their lives to want things to work out for them. Read more

There looks to be a balance of positive and negative reviews on this one. I have to come down on the positive side. I would describe this movie as a blend of Southern Gothic (dark, psychological, tragic), Modern Western (Unforgiven would be an example of this prototypical style of western), and "Indy" (Independent film, for it's overall atmosphere and an aesthetic that seems to favor developing emotional complexity over plot complexity). If you like Southern Gothic, and independent films, and Westerns, I would bet any money you will fall in the category that loves this film. The movie focuses on three insane women, and a very rough, but very good-hearted, western woman, whom you could say could relate to the insane women. A somewhat complicated, though understated, drunken scavenger of a man, played by Tommy Lee Jones, anchors the story. The acting is very good all-around. Lots of star-power features in the film at every level, and in every role. Hilary Swank is great in this role. I think she really manages to just disappear into her character in the sense that while you watch this movie she stops being Hilary Swank. On the other hand, at all times you will be are aware that Tommy Lee Jones is Tommy Lee Jones. This, in my opinion, is a mark of a great acting performance, by Swank, and it really makes the movie that much better. Tommy Lee Jones slowly becomes the center of this movie as it progresses. He plays the same role you always see Tommy Lee Jones play. I would say it was unimpressive in comparison to other work he's done (No Country for Old Men, Coal Miner's Daughter, Lonesome Dove). He is neither an asset, nor a distraction in this film. He's just Tommy Lee Jones. The movie is not for those who like endings that are happy and wrap a bow up around everything and leaves things feeling "resolved", and "purposeful". If you have seen "There Will Be Blood" and liked that kind of ending, you will feel satisfied with this ending. If you saw that movie and hated it because of the ending, watch something else. I personally love the Modern Western, both in Literature and Film. On the Literature side,"Butcher's Crossing" by John Williams, and "Blood Meridian", along with 'the border trilogy' by Cormac McCarthy are examples of the culmination of the Western genre in Literature. Movies like "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Unforgiven", and the "Lonesome Dove" miniseries are my favorites on the film side of the Western Genre. In my assessment, this movie is nowhere close to the greatness of the before-mentioned books and films, BUT it is in that same genre and vein. If you like these types of movies, this one is a solid genre-fit for you, and you will find it worthwhile to watch. My recommendation is just watch it. Read more